A Rockville retiree routinely starts his day at his local Giant, where he buys multiple newspapers and Maryland Lottery scratch-offs to enjoy at home during breakfast. On March 28, he made a bonus purchase – a couple of quick-pick Bonus Match 5 tickets – and headed home.

The Montgomery County resident and his wife of 37 years enjoyed an uneventful Saturday that ended with dinner and TV. He didn’t stop to watch the televised Bonus Match 5 drawing. “Before I go to bed I always check my numbers,” he said. That’s when the grandfather of one discovered he owned a $50,000 winning Bonus Match 5 ticket!

“I was kind of speechless,” he said. His wife was already in bed so he quietly hid the ticket and tried to sleep. He admits, “I didn’t sleep well.”

Sunday came and went with nothing said to either his wife or his adult daughter about his win. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration employee, who retired in 1990 after more than 35 years of service, arrived at Lottery headquarters Monday morning to claim his prize. The happy 80-something winner planned to go straight home and share the good news with his family.

He’s still thinking about how he wants to spend the prize and knows he will keep playing Lottery games. This is his second big win already this year; he claimed a $5,000 prize on the $5 Orioles scratch-off in January.

His ticket, bought at Giant #319 at 625 Hungerford Drive in Rockville, is the ninth $50,000 winning Bonus Match 5 ticket sold in 2015. Giant will receive a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the ticket.

Superstitious about Friday the 13th being unlucky? A Gaithersburg woman found plenty of luck playing Keno on this allegedly unlucky day — $40,000 worth, in fact!

The 73-year-old teacher chose a quick pick, six-spot ticket. Thanks to the addition of the Super Bonus, her win multiplied to $40,000!

The Montgomery County resident bought her winning ticket at College Plaza Exxon located at 15211 Frederick Road in Rockville. The happy retailer will receive a $400 bonus from the Lottery for selling her the lucky Keno ticket.

The landscaping business often freezes up during frigid weather, making it tough for workers to make ends meet. Landscaper Jose Beltran of Rockville, however, unearthed a green cure for his winter work blues – a $50,000 Maryland Lottery Monopoly scratch-off win!

“I get some work in on the milder days, but there haven’t been too many mild days recently,” the 30-year-old told Lottery officials. “I can keep up with my bills as long as nothing unexpected comes along.”

A once-a-week instant ticket player, Jose was running an errand when he wound up next door to a Lottery retailer, the Asian Supermarket in Rockville. “I saw that they sold tickets so I went in to see if they had my favorite one,” he said. That favorite scratch-off is Monopoly, which he said brings him a win more often than not. He tried his luck with a $5 ticket; the Lottery in January launched a family of Monopoly tickets priced at $1, $2, $5 and $10.

“I scratched it and didn’t see a win and was looking for a trash can,” he said. “Before tossing it, I took one more look.” That last glance brought the $50,000 prize he’d won into view. “I was very surprised … thrilled! I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm.”

Jose’s Lottery luck will carry him until spring brings nicer weather and a busier work schedule. “I’m not as worried now when the temperature drops,” he said.

After claiming his prize, the Montgomery County resident headed home for a nap because his excitement kept him awake all night. Next on his agenda is a new car search. When he drives by the Asian Supermarket at 2200 Veirs Mill Road in Rockville, he’s sure to have a smile on his face. The store staff members can also smile because the supermarket receives a $500 bonus from the Lottery for selling the top-prize ticket.

Want to get in on the fun? There are four top prizes remaining on the $5 scratch-off and no one has yet claimed the top prizes on the three other tickets.

A Montgomery County Multi-Match player’s loyalty was rewarded this week with a $750,000 jackpot win, the sixth top-prize win this year. The 31 year-old mother plays the game regularly and, while she’s won smaller amounts often, was not prepared for such a windfall.

She rarely checks each Multi-Match drawing’s results, choosing instead to scan her ticket when purchasing the next one. The game’s extended play option allows her to play for ten consecutive drawings.

“I was bored yesterday and decided to check Monday night’s numbers. I was stunned when I saw that all six numbers matched. I started crying, it’s just such a blessing.”

The Gaithersburg woman is looking forward to using her winnings for a down payment on a new home and an education fund for her son. She plans to stick to her Multi-Match schedule. “It’s been pretty good to me,” she joked. Her Maryland Lottery luck found her at Grove Beer & Wine, 16825 Crabbs Branch Way in Rockville.

A Silver Spring woman enjoyed a great big $100,000 surprise after reinvesting a $5 Maryland Lottery scratch-off win into the purchase of a Great Big Bingo scratch-off.

“When I get a small win, I’ll use it to purchase another ticket,” she explained. The Montgomery County woman bought a $2 scratch-off, which yielded a $5 prize. She then bought the lucky top-prize winning Great Big Bingo scratch-off at the Asian Supermarket at 2200 Veirs Mill Road in Rockville.

Rather than scratch off the instant ticket in the store, the lucky woman took it home. She was watching the “Dancing with the Stars” finale and cheering on 2014 season winner Meryl Davis and her partner when she decided to try her luck. Imagine her surprise when she revealed an ‘X’ on the ticket to win its $100,000 top prize!

The 55-year-old shared the news with her family and they checked the ticket repeatedly to verify her win. “I must have checked the ticket a hundred times,” she said. “It’s all just so exciting.”

Our winner works for a Rockville business that produces basketball-style recreation programs for the disabled. Her work, while rewarding, keeps her very busy. “I haven’t taken a vacation in about three years,” she said. That long-awaited trip is definitely in the planning stage now!

John Winovich of Gaithersburg won $30,000 playing the Maryland Lottery’s Rainbow Blackout Bingo scratch-off.

Finds $30,000 Winning Rainbow Blackout Bingo Scratch-off

A mother and son scratch-off team found a pot of gold at the end of their Maryland Lottery Rainbow Blackout Bingo instant ticket! The winning Winovichs, who enjoy playing instant tickets together, scratched their way to a $30,000 top prize on the $2 ticket.

John Winovich of Gaithersburg, who claimed the prize, routinely purchases scratch-offs to share with his mom when they visit. His favorite spot to buy tickets is a location where his mother won $500 a few years ago. On this day, John bought $20 worth of tickets, including a few bingo tickets. “I never win on the bingo tickets,” said the 54-year-old. “That’s why I didn’t get that many.”

The Montgomery County resident took the tickets to his mother’s house, divided them up into two groups and got to work on his share. “I scratched everything but that Rainbow Blackout Bingo ticket,” he told Lottery officials. “I put it aside and decided to finish watching a movie.”

While he was distracted, his mother decided to scratch that ticket. She revealed an X and thought it signaled a $500 win. “But, I then realized it was the whole box and that the win was much more,” said the 78-year-old, who accompanied her son to Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim his prize. The two double-checked the ticket, sealed it in a plastic sandwich bag and placed it beneath some coins in a bank until they could claim the prize.

John now works as a legal secretary but experienced a job layoff in the past. “It was scary not having any income,” he said, “so I am going to keep the majority of this win as a little nest egg.”

He plans to buy a king-size bed and a bookcase for his mother as well as splurge on a special birthday dinner for her later this month. Our lucky player bought the winning ticket at the Metro Coffee Convenience Store located at 202A Park Road in Rockville. There are 10 more top prizes of $30,000 remaining on this scratch-off as well as 10 second-tier prizes of $10,000.

Escorted by her big brother, a recent Nursing school graduate arrived at Maryland Lottery headquarters to chart her $50,000 Lucky Millionaire scratch-off win as ready for discharge.

The Montgomery County woman told Lottery officials that scratching instant tickets is a family affair. “Every couple of days, we all pick up a few tickets and then scratch them together,” the 23-year-old said. “We have a great time.”

The happy scratch-off player chose the $20 instant ticket, which debuted on Feb. 24, because she had not seen it before. When the Laytonsville resident first scratched off the lucky ticket, she didn’t realize that lottery luck had found her.

“I cleared off just the dollar amounts at first,” she said. “I saw $5,000 in a bunch of places so I got nervous and gave it to my brother to finish. When he scratched it all, he looked at me with a shocked expression.”

The siblings took the ticket to a Lottery retailer to confirm the win. The happy almost-millionaire plans to share her winnings with her family.

“They supported me all through nursing school and kept me going,” she said. “I’m happy to be able to return the favor.”

The Lucky Millionaire scratch-off winner found her winning ticket at the 7-Eleven at 17701 Muncaster Road in Rockville. The game still has three $1 million winners in stores as well as six more $50,000 prizes.

A Gaithersburg woman who buys one Maryland Lottery scratch-off each week got a huge surprise when she selected a winning ticket with the Big Cash Multiplier $50,000 top prize.

The nanny has won $100 and $300 on scratch-offs in the past but never imagined she would win a top prize. The 43-year-old scratched off the ticket at home and couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I looked and I looked and I just was not sure,” she said. To confirm the win, the Montgomery County resident took the ticket to a Lottery retailer where she knows the employees and asked if her ticket was a winner.

The store clerk gave this mother of a preschooler and a teenager great news. “He said, ‘You’ve got a lot of money!’ Everybody is very happy,” she said.

Because she isn’t sure what she wants to do with the money, our winner said she will put the money into a bank account. Her Lottery luck came from the Courthouse Exxon at 700 Rockville Pike in Rockville. The game still has three $50,000 top prize winning tickets out in the stores and nine second-tier $5,000 tickets available.

Rockville is a lucky place to live if you’re a Maryland Lottery scratch-off player! The second Rockville resident in a week rolled into Lottery headquarters in Baltimore to claim a significant scratch-off prize.

An auto mechanic who found his Lottery luck playing the Super Slots scratch-off claimed the game’s $77,700 top prize on Friday. He joins a Rockville electrician who stopped in on Wednesday to claim the $100,000 prize he won playing Great Big Bingo.

The 43-year-old mechanic only plays when circumstances place him at a Lottery retailer. “It’s never a planned thing, it’s spur-of-the-moment,” he said. This time, the urge to play the Lottery hit when he was at a Rockville gas station.

“I had an extra $5 and the station sold tickets, so I picked out one that cost $5,” he said. Super Slots proved to be a good scratch-off choice. He waited until he was home with his fiancée to get to work on his ticket.

“I absolutely could not believe what I was seeing,” he said. “We both read the instructions over and over to figure out what we were missing. There was no way it could be real.”

The couple eventually acknowledged the win and shared a quiet celebration that night.

Paying off debt is their plan for the unexpected windfall. He also thinks they can squeeze in a vacation. “We’ve been talking about getting away somewhere warm – especially these last few days,” he said.

This winner bought his lucky ticket at the Shell gas station at 1911 Rockville Pike in Rockville. The game has four more $77,700 winning tickets in stores.

A Rockville electrician found his fortune while at a Maryland Laundromat, where he cleaned up with the discovery of a $100,000 winning Maryland Lottery scratch-off.

His good fortune began when the man bought a Great Big Bingo ticket on his way home from work. The 36-year-old just loves bingo-style scratch tickets, he told Lottery officials. Leaving the Montgomery County store, he headed to a nearby self-service laundry to clean his clothes. He scratched off his $5 ticket while he waited. When he saw the $100,000 win, he froze in place.

“I stayed very calm,” he said. “I didn’t attract any attention. I think I was in shock! I didn’t know what to do!”

The Montgomery County man decided to go directly home to safeguard his winning ticket and share the great news with his cousin. He was in such a hurry, he said, that he nearly left his clothes in the machine. His cousin doubted his win, initially. “I am a bit of a joker sometimes,” the man said. “It took some work to convince him.”

He plans to use his winnings to repair his car and take a vacation. He’s also dreamed of building a home in his native El Salvador. Want to visit his lucky store? Our winner bought his Great Big Bingo ticket at Rodman’s Discount Store at 4301 Randolph Road in Rockville. The game has four more $100,000 winning tickets in stores.